How A Shooting Changed Charleston's Oldest Black Church

Mother Emanuel church stands in the background as a mourner visits a sidewalk memorial last year in memory of the shooting.

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Originally published on March 8, 2017 12:50 pm

Just days after the tragic shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., last year, the pews at Emanuel AME were filled for Sunday service. A black cloth was draped over the chair where Emanuel's pastor, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, should have been sitting.

Holding worship in the church sanctuary — while its basement was still a fresh crime scene — served as a way for the congregation to move forward while acknowledging the deaths of nine of its own.

The church is affectionately known as Mother Emanuel, and it was there that the pastor and eight other worshippers were killed on June 17, 2015, as they bowed their heads in prayer during a Bible study. Authorities say the shooting suspect, Dylann Roof, who is white, chose the predominantly black church for the racially motivated assault in order to magnify the societal impact.

"The only reason someone could walk into a church and shoot people praying is out of hate — the only reason," Joe Riley, Charleston's mayor at the time, said last year.

A Long History

Mother Emanuel, founded in 1816, is one of the oldest black congregations in the South and was already culturally significant. The church has a long, complicated history: It has survived natural disasters and an antebellum ban on black churches. In 1822, Mother Emanuel was burned for its association with Denmark Vesey, a former slave who tried to organize a slave revolt. It remained a force for social change. Civil rights marchers gathered there, and Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King Jr. spoke from the pulpit.

The church's tall, brown spire is a Charleston landmark. Today, the wrought iron gate surrounding the church is locked and a security guard stands watch.

"Emanuel has become part tourist attraction, part shrine," said the Rev. Joseph Darby, vice president of the Charleston NAACP and a presiding elder with the African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina. He said that since the mass shooting, people have come from all over to see the church — and all that attention has been a mixed blessing. For some, he said, coming here serves as an act of atonement.

"There's a need — particularly for some good white folks — to say, 'I am not Dylann Roof. This does not represent me,' " he said.

A Stream Of Visitors

It's not just tourists who are streaming in on tour buses. Journalists and politicians including Gov. Nikki Haley, Vice President Biden and U.S. senators have visited the church. Earlier this year, Charleston was the site of a congressional civil rights pilgrimage centered on the Emanuel massacre.

And other groups have been taking a close look at what happened here. At Charleston's Second Presbyterian Church — just a block behind Emanuel — people from around the country gathered to discuss the meaning of the church following the shootings at Mother Emanuel.

"For many of us that will be very difficult," said Pastor Spike Coleman, of St. Andrews Presbyterian, who led the session. "You're standing on holy ground right now."

That gathering included Major Naomi Broughton of the Charleston Police Department. She helped coordinate the response in the shooting's aftermath.

"I've never seen the multitude of victims as forgiving as this," Broughton said. "But there was a lot of angry people. I was angry. I don't know if I would have been as gracious as those family members were." Broughton was part of the church meeting.

One of the most dramatic examples of that came at the initial hearing for suspect Dylann Roof, which was televised. The judge allowed the victims' families to speak. Nadine Collier's mother, Ethel Lance, was killed.

"I will never talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again. But I forgive you and have mercy on your soul," Collier said last year.

Looking For Justice

A year later, the conversation has turned to justice. Roof will go on trial later this year — he faces the death penalty on both state and federal charges. Some of the families of those slain are against a death sentence. Others support it.

"He took nine lives. He made the decision. He sat with them for an hour," Melvin Graham said. His sister Cynthia Hurd, a librarian, was killed in the Emanuel attack. Graham said mercy and forgiveness don't negate the need for punishment. "This was a purposeful act. This was a murderous act. This was a hateful act and therefore he should pay the consequences for his action."

For the families, the ongoing court hearings and now the anniversary events are tough.

"The hard part is it doesn't go away. It doesn't go away," Graham said. "You have to deal with this day in and day out."

And so does the Mother Emanuel congregation — and it's been difficult. In the months following the shooting, millions of dollars in donations poured in. There were allegations that church leaders mishandled the funds. Lawsuits ensued, but have since been settled. And the church recently distributed $1.5 million to the victims' families.

Now a new leader — Emanuel's first female pastor — has taken the pulpit: the Rev. Dr. Betty Deas Clark.

"Last summer, our church suffered a great tragedy. But we never gave up our faith," she said in a YouTube video from earlier this year. "We never gave up on God because God never gives up on us. Through it all, our church stands strong."

Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Last June, a year ago, a gunman attacked the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. The pastors and eight other worshipers were killed during Bible study as they bowed their heads in prayer. The church is affectionately known as Mother Emanuel, and it's been a spark for social change since the days of slavery. Today, as NPR's Debbie Elliott reports, the church is an even larger symbol of the nation's ongoing struggle for racial justice.

DEBBIE ELLIOT, BYLINE: Just days after the tragic shooting on Wednesday night, June 17, the pews at Emanuel AME were filled for Sunday worship.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Let somebody say hallelujah.

UNIDENTIFIED CONGREGATION: Hallelujah.

ELLIOT: A black cloth draped the chair where Emanuel's pastor State Senator Clementa Pinckney should've been sitting. Having the sanctuary open for service when the basement below was a fresh crime scene served as a powerful witness for a nation shocked by official accounts that a young white man had targeted the church out of racial hatred. Here's Joe Riley, who was Charleston's mayor at the time.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOE RILEY: The only reason someone could walk into a church and shoot people praying is out of hate - the only reason.

ELLIOT: Authorities say suspect Dylann Roof chose in church for the racially motivated assault in order to magnify the societal impact. Emanuel AME is one of the oldest black congregations of the South and was already culturally significant. It has survived arson, national disasters and an antebellum ban on black churches. One of its founders organized a slave revolt. Civil rights marchers gathered here, and Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke from the pulpit. Mother Emanuel's tall, brown spire is a Charleston landmark. Today, the wrought iron gate surrounding the church is locked, and a security guard stands watch.

JOSEPH DARBY: Yeah, Emanuel has become part tourist attraction, part shrine.

ELLIOT: The Reverend Joseph Darby is vice president of the Charleston NAACP. He's also a presiding elder with the AME Church in South Carolina. Standing on the sidewalk in front of Emanuel, Darby says since the mass shooting, people have come from all over to see the church.

DARBY: Then you get tour buses.

ELLIOT: A bus parks across the street, and people snap pictures through the windows. Darby says all the attention has been a mixed blessing. For some, he says, coming here serves as an act of atonement.

DARBY: There's a need particularly for some good white folks to say, I am not Dylann Roof. This does not represent me.

ELLIOT: And it's not just -- tourists. There's a steady stream of journalists, like me. The governor and U.S. senators have come to worship. So has the vice president. President Obama delivered the eulogy at the Reverend Clementa Pinckney's funeral.

BARACK OBAMA: (Singing) Amazing grace - how sweet the sound.

(APPLAUSE)

ELLIOT: Earlier this year, Charleston was the site of a congressional pilgrimage centered on the Emanuel massacre, and other groups have been taking a close look at what happened here.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (Unintelligible).

ELLIOT: At Charleston Second Presbyterian Church, just a block behind Emanuel, pastors from around the country came for a session about the meaning of the church in a post-Mother Emanuel world.

SPIKE COLEMAN: We're going to talk with one another about what happened June 17.

ELLIOT: Pastor Spike Coleman from St. Andrews Presbyterian led the session. He works as a volunteer chaplain and responded to the Emanuel shooting.

COLEMAN: For many of us, that will be very difficult. And in a real sense, you're standing on holy ground right now.

ELLIOT: Among those sharing their experiences was Police Major Naomi Broughton, who coordinated the response in the chaotic aftermath.

NAOMI BROUGHTON: I've never seen the multitude of victims as forgiving as this. There was a lot of angry people. I was angry. I don't know if I would've been as gracious as those family members were.

ELLIOT: One of the most dramatic examples of that came at the initial hearing for suspect Dylann Roof, which was televised. The judge allowed the victims' families to speak. Nadine Collier's mother, Ethel Lance, was killed.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

NADINE COLLIER: I will never talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again, but I forgive you and have mercy on your soul.

ELLIOT: A year later, the conversation has turned to justice. Twenty-two-year-old Dylann Roof will go on trial later this year. He faces the death penalty on both state and federal charges. Some of the families of those slain are against a death sentence. Other support it.

MELVIN GRAHAM: He took nine lives. He made the decision. He sat with them for an hour.

ELLIOT: Melvin Graham is the brother of Cynthia Hurd, the Charleston librarian killed in the Emanuel attack. He says mercy and forgiveness don't negate the need for punishment.

GRAHAM: This was a purposeful act. This was a murderous act. This was a hateful act. And therefore he should pay the consequences for his action.

ELLIOT: For the families, the ongoing court hearings and now the anniversary events are tough.

GRAHAM: The hard part is it doesn't go away. It doesn't go away, so you have to deal with this day in and day out.

ELLIOT: So does the Mother Emanuel congregation, and it's been difficult. In the months following the shooting, millions of dollars in donations poured in. There were allegations that church leaders mishandled the funds. Lawsuits ensued, but have since been settled, and the church recently distributed one and a half million dollars to the victims' families. Now a new leader has taken the pulpit - first Emanuel's woman pastor.

ELLIOT: Here she is with a YouTube message inviting worshipers for Easter sunrise service.

CLARK: Last summer, our church suffered a great tragedy, but we never gave up our faith. We never gave up on God because God never gives up on us. Through it all, our church stands strong.

ELLIOT: Standing strong, as it has for nearly 200 years. The congregation is planning a series of commemorative events in the coming weeks to honor victims and survivors of the Mother Emanuel massacre. Debbie Elliott, NPR News, Charleston. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.